One of two US aircraft carriers leaves Middle East | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

The US Department of Defense says one of two US aircraft carrier strike groups deployed to the Middle East has left the region but will keep monitoring Iran’s activities. Iran is still hinting at retaliatory attacks on Israel.

US Defense Department Press Secretary Pat Ryder said at a news conference on Thursday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group began heading to the Indo-Pacific region.

The group had been deployed to the Middle East since before the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in August.

The Abraham Lincoln was sent to the Middle East following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July in Tehran. Iran declared that it would attack Israel in retaliation.

At the news conference, a reporter noted that the United States now has one aircraft carrier in the region and asked Ryder if this is an indication that the Pentagon feels tensions between Iran and Israel have eased.

Ryder responded that his department will continue to take Iranian threats “very seriously.” He said the US military always has “the ability to surge forces or capabilities anywhere in the world.”

Iran continues to threaten retaliatory attacks on Israel. But it has also hinted at giving careful consideration to when and how to carry out such strikes.